Click the play button on the video window to the right to see the storyTEMPE, AZ -- Newly released video from protesters shows them clashing with the establishment in Tehran. Witnesses say Iranian Revolutionary Guards beat demonstrators and fired tear gas and water cannons at them.
Bloggers and Twitter users claim dozens of protesters have been killed.
As the violent images of Iran’s revolt come into the United States, Iranian ASU students are watching, and worrying.
The last time one graduate student talked to his family three days ago, his brother was on the streets protesting. He hasn’t heard from any of them since.
Fearing for his family’s safety, he talked to ABC15 on the condition of anonymity.
“It’s terrible,” he said. “I put a face on my brothers and sister over there, and it could be any of them. It's very disheartening to see that. We are just looking to see if we can see any of them. These are the streets where we were. These are the people I knew-- they are real people, and they are getting killed and beaten brutally.”
Another ASU student, who goes by the name Massoud, is in the country on a visa. He has only known life in Iran under the Islamic Republic, but his country may be a very different place when he returns.
“That hurts-- when you're here, and you see people there, and they are sacrificing their lives for what they want,” said Massoud. “I really have this feeling that it's the worst time to be here. I wish I was over there and could help.”
Now Massoud doesn’t know if he will go back anytime soon.
After the election fallout, the protests turned into more than a voting dispute, shaking the foundation of Iran’s regime to the core, and the emotions of those whose families are caught in the chaos.
“We just want to have a peaceful life,” said the first ASU student. “We want change, and we want to live in a peaceful country of freedom.”
The students will keep trying to reach their families, watching smuggled Internet clips of the violence in Tehran with the rest of the world.
The local Iranian American community will hold a candlelight vigil to mourn those who died during the past week’s demonstrations Sunday evening at College and University in Tempe.
